By ANDREW FEEBACK
TIPTON—For the past two weeks, Bluffton coach Brent Kunkel has been preaching toughness to his team.
“I’ve been telling the kids that I think we’re the most talented team in the sectional, but I didn’t know if we were physically or mentally tough enough,” he said.
In a 29-18 win over the host Tipton Blue Devils that was full of oddities, strange twists, and adversity, the Tigers answered that question, at least for the time being.
As a result, the Tigers (7-4) won the first-ever football game between the two schools and will play for a sectional championship next week.
Tipton ended its season 5-6.
The game could not have started any worse for Bluffton.
Tipton scored on its first play from scrimmage when running back Eli Carter, the program’s all-time leading rusher, took a handoff and went 64 yards untouched for a score.
Bluffton’s first play was a fumbled snap that Tipton recovered.
“We could have easily rolled over,” Kunkel said. “I’ve been coaching Bluffton for six years, I’ve been with the program for 12, and I’ve seen teams roll over when those bad things happened. This team refused to. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Brody Lewis intercepted a pass from Tipton quarterback Vince Hoover, and Bluffton tied the game on a 17-yard touchdown run from Anthony Cruz.
The Tigers took a 10-7 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Yaroslav Serdiuk that snuck over the crossbar.
The teams traded empty possessions before Tipton got a field goal of its own, a 22-yarder from Dakota Foerg to tie it at 10.
The Tigers scored a touchdown with no time remaining on a fake field goal attempt, in which quarterback Braxton Betancourt lined up as the holder, rolled to his left, and found Andrew Hunt in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass to end the half, a play that seemed to stun the Blue Devils and their fans.
“That’s been in the playbook all year, and we rep it every single day when we do PATs,” Kunkel said. “It was Coach Morgan’s call. Braxton made a heck of a throw, and Drew made a heck of a catch. We were happy being tied, especially the way we started, but we go into the half up six, we get the ball coming out, and we stole that extra possession. At halftime, we said we were going to come out and pound it, pound it, pound it.”
And they did.
In fact, the Tigers spent literally the entire third quarter pounding the Blue Devil defense, with Cruz repeatedly finding holes and pushing the pile forward.
Hunter Wenger made an outstanding catch on the Tigers’ only passing play of the drive, setting up Cruz’s second rushing touchdown that gave Bluffton a 22-10 lead.
Then, the Tigers surprised the Blue Devils with a short kickoff which they easily recovered at Tipton’s 44-yard-line.
They kept going to Cruz, who carried eight more times, the last of which appeared to be for another touchdown.
But a chop-block penalty on the Tigers brought it back.
After that, a holding penalty, an incomplete pass, and a false start.
The Tigers were flagged seven times in the third quarter and suddenly faced third and goal from the 30 as the third quarter ended.
Tipton’s offense finally took the field eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
Hoover made an ill-advised throw while being sacked, with Tucker Jenkins intercepting it and running it back 25 yards to give Bluffton a 29-10 lead.
Lewis came up with another pick on the Blue Devils’ next series.
The Blue Devils weren’t quite done, however, with Hoover making a couple big throws and Carter proving difficult to tackle.
A three-yard touchdown run from Carter and a two-point run from Hoover brought Tipton within 29-18 at the 4:23 mark.
And when the Tigers couldn’t come up with the onside kick recovery, the Tipton crowd suddenly came back to life.
Again, the Tiger defense stepped up, with Lewis intercepting a deep pass from Hoover. The Tigers had to punt with 1:42 to play, but Kayden King sacked Hoover and forced a fumble that Lukas Gehrett recovered to end the game.
“It’s the best defensive backfield I’ve had at Bluffton in six years,” Kunkel said. “They went after the ball and made plays. We had pressure up front, and that last play was unbelievable.”
November football has been a rare occurrence in Bluffton through the years, and Kunkel is excited not only about getting another game, but what the extra practices mean for the program.
“My sophomore year, I was a scout team player, but we went to state when I was at Norwell in 1999,” he said. “I got six extra weeks of practice. These young guys get another week where they can continue to get these reps. This experience is invaluable.”
The Eastbrook Panthers, a longtime power on the football field, stand between the Tigers and their first sectional title since 1988.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” Kunkel said. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge, but we get to do it. We’ll see where we stack up.”
Bluffton will host the game, which will begin at 7 p.m.
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BLUFFTON 29, TIPTON 18
At Tipton
Score By Quarters
Bluffton 10 6 6 7 – 29
Tipton 7 3 0 8 – 18
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
T—Eli Carter 64 run (Dakota Foerg kick), 11:48.
B—Anthony Cruz 17 run (Yaroslav Serdiuk kick), 8:57.
B—Serdiuk 29 FG, 1:23.
Second Quarter
T—Foerg 22 FG, 1:05.
B—Andrew Hunt 10 pass from Braxton Betancourt (kick failed), 0:00
Third Quarter
B—Cruz 6 run (pass failed), 6:36.
Fourth Quarter
B—Tucker Jenkins 25 interception return (Serdiuk kick), 11:37.
T—Carter 2 run (Vince Hoover run), 4:23.
Team Statistics
BLU TIP
First Downs 20 14
Rushes-Yards 43-264 33-189
Yards Passing 92 140
Passing (C-A-I) 7-15-0 7-19-4
Penalties-Yards 9-60 2-24
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Punts-Average 2-39 1-36
Time of Possession 26:39 21:21
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bluffton, Anthony Cruz 28-205, Braxton Betancourt 7-44, Andrew Hunt 3-14, Khamel Moore 3-3. Tipton, Eli Carter 19-121, Vince Hoover 14-68.
Passing: Bluffton, Betancourt 7-15-0-92. Tipton, Hoover 7-19-4-140.
Receiving: Bluffton, Hunt 2-30, Hunter Wenger 1-20, AJ Streveler 1-18, Tucker Jenkins 2-17, Brody Lewis 1-7. Tipton, Carter 4-62, Zane Goodrich 2-39, Levi Burkett 1-39.
